Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an illumination control system, and more particularly, the invention relates to an illumination control system that senses a status of a user through a sensor and accurately obtains latitude-longitudes and indoor floor heights of the user through a user positioning function, and controls illumination of light sources based on the positioning data.
Description of Related Art
In a society with aging population and declining birthrate, the importance of adopting an intelligent life and home care system has increased, and illumination has become indispensable in daily life. Thus, intelligent illumination systems have been developed. Currently, indoor illumination control systems commonly seen in the market require the following sensors:
1. Occupancy sensor: a function of the occupancy sensor is to automatically turn the lights on when a person enters a room and turn the lights off when the person leaves. The occupancy sensor comes handy for one who carries items with both hands when entering a room such as a laundromat, a kitchen, or a workplace.
2. Vacancy sensor: a function of the vacancy sensor is to turn the lights off when the person leave a room, but the person needs to manually turn the lights on when entering the room. The vacancy sensor is an ideal choice for the bedroom, as the lights would not be automatically turned on when one's partner walks in during sleep. The vacancy sensor is a preferable choice if the household includes a pet.
3. Daylight sensor: the daylight sensor dims or turns lights off when sufficient daylight is provided in a room. The daylight sensor is an ideal choice for a room with many windows, such as a family room or a sun room. This type of sensor fully uses the available daylight, reduces dependency on electrical light, and helps lower electricity costs.
4. Passive infrared sensor (PIR): the passive infrared sensor (PIR) detects temperature changes so as to determine whether someone enters a room and whether lights should be turned on. The PIR is suitable for being installed in a small and closed environment so as to detect obvious movements of a person, because the design thereof is for detecting primary movements. The strength thereof is to easily detect a person walking in or out of a space. However, a weakness thereof is that the PIR automatically turns the lights off when the PIR determines the person is not active, such that the sudden darkness causes inconvenience because the person needs to be active in order to keep the lights on.
5. Ultrasonic sensor: whether an object is moving or not in a room may be detected by reflection generated by transmitting ultrasound to the object and detecting acoustic frequency offsets between transmissions and reflections. The ultrasonic sensor is adept at detecting slight movements, such as typing, and does not need a surrounding with a bare sight vision.
6. Wireless sensor: the wireless sensor does not require new wirings and is easily installed and programmed. Each of the batteries in the wireless sensor lasts ten years, and the wireless sensor may be easily relocated for reconfigurations. Additional sensors may be installed at any time so as to expand a coverage area of the sensor in the room. These sensors transmit radio frequency (RF) signals to a dimmer and a switch, and the RF signals instruct them what to do. These sensors operate in a low frequency band (434 MHz) so as to avoid interference of other wireless devices. Wired sensors directly connected to a light control device are suitable for new buildings and battery changes are not required.
Conventional indoor illumination control technologies only control switching of lights without having dimming or toning functions. However, current LED-based illumination systems not only enhance luminous efficiency but are also capable of dimming and toning. By combining daylight sensors and room temperature sensors under computer control, the intelligence of the illumination system may be improved. However, since current illumination systems do not detect locations, identities, and emotions of indoor users, there is much room for improving the intelligence of the current illumination systems. In the modern society, buildings such as residential buildings, shopping malls or skyscrapers are becoming colossal, and people may easily get lost in a shopping mall and lose their ways. Thus, an indoor positioning system is a must have. Although many mobile communication devices have a built-in global positioning system (GPS), the GPS function cannot be used indoors. Furthermore, current indoor positioning systems require another positioning network to be structured, such as the indoor positioning system disclosed in Taiwan Patent Application No. 97112483. Moreover, the user may also require a dedicated positioning label. Therefore, the system is costly and inconvenient. In view of the above, the invention enables cost effective indoor illumination by developing an easy to use illumination system with positioning functions.